Editor’s Note: To read more about the “Asian American Christians for Black Lives and Dignity March,” click here.
In July 1972, I participated in my first Christian march as a college student. Armed with banners and chants, we paraded through the streets of Manhattan’s Chinatown, proclaiming the name of Jesus.
Nearly 50 years later in June 2020, carrying signs and a banner, we chanted for justice for the Black community in the “Asian American Christians for Black Lives and Dignity March” led by the Asian American Christian Collaborative. The prayer march wended its way from Chicago’s Chinatown to a Black neighborhood two miles away.
These two events marked major transitional points in my life as a pastor. In 1972, I had completed my first year at a Christian college, having transferred from a secular university when I responded to the Lord’s call to ministry. My first pastorate would be 7 years away. And June 28, 2020 marked my final Sunday as a full-time pastor as I transition to retirement and part-time ministry.
How has the world changed during my lifetime of vocational service as evidenced by these two marches? The following are four aspects.
1. Chinese American Versus Asian American
Although both marches took place in historic Chinatowns, their participants were different. The early march was overwhelmingly composed of Chinese Americans.
While the majority of this recent march may still have been Chinese American, a glance at the photo of ministry staff taken at the conclusion of the march reveals the multitude of Asian ethnicities that were in attendance. East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian congregations were all represented, swelling the attendance to 1,000-plus marchers.
The passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened the floodgates for immigration from Asia to the United States. In 1972, many of the marchers like myself had immigrated to the United States or were born in this country long before 1965. It was unimaginable back then to think of working together with other sizable Asian groups, much less partner with African Americans.
Today Asian American churches, church plants, and college fellowships identified as Asian American have become woven into the fabric of evangelical church life. During my seminary years, Asian students across America represented only 1% of total student enrollment. Today, 9% of all seminary students are Asian. This is a welcome sign that Asian Americans are being trained for ministry to tomorrow’s church.
2. Evangelism Versus Social Justice
Evangelistic fervor was a mark of the 1972 march. The streets of Chinatown were packed with onlookers standing shoulder to shoulder. Local residents might not have understood why these young people were so enthusiastic about proclaiming a “western” religion or a god named Jesus.
Back then, Christians were exhorted to share their faith with strangers by using the Four Spiritual Laws. They were trained to evangelize with programs such as Evangelism Explosion, which is now seen as confrontational. The march ended with an evangelistic rally in the neighborhood park.
In today’s postmodern, post-Christian world where biblical values have fallen out of favor, friendship evangelism is the preferred strategy of choice. Justification by faith must now be accompanied by demonstrable acts of faith, including social justice. Thus it was important for Asian Americans to march for Black lives and dignity in a city infamous for its segregation. An invisible line demarcates the white Northside Chicago neighborhoods from the black Southside. (Naturally, Chinatown rests south of the dividing line.)
What hasn’t changed through the years is the attitude of Chinese Americans (and Asian Americans) toward African Americans. Chinatown streets were largely devoid of local residents during the recent march, due both to Covid-19 worries and the fear of violence and looting with the presence of Black people in the community. Opposition to the march exploded on the communication app WeChat. A number of first-generation church leaders and members were also opposed to ending the silence, reluctant to speak up for the Black community.
This response highlights another factor that hasn’t changed — the cultural, philosophical and theological divide between the first generation and the second generation. The overwhelming majority of native English speakers eventually leave their Asian American immigrant church. Far more church options are available now compared to 1972, hastening this mass exodus.
It is extremely frustrating for me to see that a generation has come and gone but the mistakes of the past continue to linger and haunt Asian immigrant churches. As long as immigration from Asia continues at a healthy pace, the first generation clings to their hierarchical mode of governance and planned traditional evangelistic programs. They fail to develop a culturally relevant strategy to retain post-college aged young adults and address the current needs in society, of which social justice is one.
3. Leadership By The Young
The New York City march was primarily spearheaded by college students and young adults, as evidenced in documented photos. There were few adults available to guide us in that era as we muddled along while breaking new ground.
While the leadership of the Chicago march featured an intergenerational team, young adults under the age of 40 were a dominant force. Their technological and social media savvy, enthusiasm, and energy were essential for the task at hand. Even entire families marched along, a few pushing baby strollers. At one stopping point during the march, children of different races engaged in prayer together.
For both marches, the paradigm shift was generated by the younger generation. Older leaders were present, but by and large, were mixed into the sea of youthful faces. When visionary change is needed in the Asian American church, what hasn’t changed is the need to rely on young adult leaders.
4. Revival
The 1972 march was a byproduct of the Jesus Movement which originated in the late 1960s in California. Centered around collegiate-aged students, the movement was the last occasion when spiritual renewal swept across our country, from West Coast to East Coast.
I witnessed and experienced this first hand in the fall of 1971. The chapel service scheduled for that morning deviated from its normal path. For several incredible hours, students spontaneously and shamelessly confessed their private sins in public before the entire student body. The purifying fire of the Holy Spirit was cleansing hearts and lives for a new generation.
The current pandemic is producing a seismic shift in the American church as well. Unable to physically meet, digital platforms have taken center stage. Moreover, a number of churches have left the protective walls of their sanctuaries to attend to the pressing material needs of their communities in ways they have never done before.
The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others produced a second quake. Demonstrations in all 50 states calling for racial justice has propelled the evangelical church to examine its stance on matters of social justice. On the June 28 prayer march, believers lamented their heretofore silence and committed to building new bridges with the racially oppressed.
The Christian church is facing pressure to emerge from its protective cocoon into active service to society by the pandemic and calls for racial justice. As Christians engage with the unchurched world to love their neighbors in two very different ways, will this be the catalyst for renewal and revival? Will young adults lead the way to revitalize a church that the world has largely designated as outdated and irrelevant?
While the future may be unclear, what is certain is that Jesus will never abandon His bride. The church will be revitalized and revival will come, sooner or later, one way or another to the next generation. Of that I remained convinced.